Chapter 151: Matchmaking

When Mo Bai and Mu Ziyan arrived at the Qionghua Hall, the sun was already high in the sky. Mo Bai immediately caught sight of Wu Luohua standing alone in front of the hall. A carefree expression rested upon Little Hua's face. Mu Ziyan cast a bright and hearty smile at Mo Bai and said, "Many thanks for helping me carry the bear back. It seems you are in a rush; go along and have a chat with your brother."

After handing the miscellaneous items over to Mu Ziyan, Mo Bai watched her retreating figure before walking towards Little Hua. Before Mo Bai could even speak, Little Hua chuckled, "Big Mo, your romantic luck is quite impressive. You've captured another prey so quickly."

Mo Bai teased back, "Didn't you see? Just now, I was the prey." Shifting the conversation, he asked, "How did it go? Does True Person Gu Meng have a way to open your spiritual gateway?"

Little Hua shook his head helplessly and replied, "True Person Gu Meng did her absolute best. She tried three different methods, and in the end, even thought of the golden needle soul-transmitting technique. What a pity; she gave me the span of three sticks of incense, yet those golden needles showed no reaction whatsoever. Alas, it seems I am simply not destined for the path of spiritual cultivation."

Mo Bai let out a sympathetic sigh, then glanced at the grand Qionghua Hall and asked, "When True Person Gu Meng performed the golden needle technique on you, was she by your side the entire time?"

Startled for a moment, Little Hua replied, "That's right. Why do you ask?"

Mo Bai shook his head. "No reason."

Little Hua pressed on, "Big Mo, what were you up to just now? How ended up together with that woman?"

With a bitter expression, Mo Bai said, "Another assassin came after me. Had it not been for Yu Yinxin appearing and disrupting the attacker's scheme, you probably wouldn't be chatting with me so leisurely right now."

Wu Luohua knitted his brows. This repeated, relentless stream of assassination attempts was truly agonizing. Furthermore, today's attempt had been carried out brazenly right in front of the Qionghua Hall—such a grave matter! Could it be that nobody in the Yihua Sect cared to manage this?

Reading the thoughts in Wu Luohua's mind, Mo Bai retrieved the hairpin from his inner robe and said, "Perhaps it is time for this to find its true owner. Let us go fetch Xin'er now and pay a visit to True Person Guyu together. Given True Person Guyu's standing within the Yihua Sect, she should be able to identify its owner very quickly, and I won't have to live in constant fear anymore."

"Let's go right now," Little Hua said.

Inside the secluded courtyard, Nalan Xin'er inexplicably coughed up a mouthful of blood. Yet upon seeing Mo Bai and Wu Luohua return, she completely brushed aside the sudden discomfort. Skipping and hopping, she bounced over to them, grabbed both of their hands, and asked eagerly, "Brother Little Hua, how did it go?"

Wu Luohua smiled. "My fate is in my own hands."

Nalan Xin'er blinked her large eyes, bewildered. "What does that mean?"

Wu Luohua smiled without answering. Mo Bai chimed in, "Come, today let's make our Brother Little Hua a bit happier. Let's go chat with Sister Ganyu."

The moment Nalan Xin'er heard they were going to see Ganyu, her spirit was instantly revived. "Yay! Yay!" she cheered happily, and ran out of the courtyard first.

Inside the Listening Rain Cottage, Ganyu poured fragrant tea for True Person Guyu and Mo Bai. Wu Luohua, Xin'er, and Ganyu then tactfully withdrew. True Person Guyu made a polite gesture inviting him to sit. Mo Bai blew gently upon the fragrant tea, took a delightful sip, and said, "True Person, today I have an item I would like you to examine for me. I wonder what you might make of it."

True Person Guyu's expression turned noticeably tense. "What special item are you bringing out this time?"

Mo Bai gave a faint smile. He still remembered the last time in Guihai City when he produced that exquisite little comb, leaving True Person Guyu somewhat flustered. "True Person, this item does not come from the outside world; rather, it belongs from right here within your Yihua Sect. I wonder if True Person has any impression of it." With that, Mo Bai drew the hairpin from his robes.

True Person Guyu accepted the hairpin. She examined it closely before speaking with a hint of doubt, "This is a hairpin belonging to our disciples of the 'Yu' generation. How did it come to be in your hands, Mo Bai?" Clearly, True Person Guyu was rather surprised that Mo Bai could produce a hairpin exclusive to her sect.

"Does the True Person know whose it is?" Although True Person Guyu had already identified it as belonging to the 'Yu' generation, there were dozens of members in that generation within the Yihua Sect, including several experts. Relying solely on this detail was still not enough to determine the exact owner.

"I seem to have seen this hairpin on that girl Yu Qiu's head once, but with something so minute, I cannot say for certain. Tell me, Mo Bai, how on earth did you come into possession of this hairpin?" True Person Guyu asked once more.

Mo Bai knew this matter could no longer be concealed and prepared to tell the truth. At that very moment, however, the door creaked open, and a short-haired woman walked in. As she entered, she called out, "Aunt, look at this bear gall bladder. I'm sure it will be beneficial for your precious disciple's constitution. Consider this a token of my sincerity."

The person who walked in was none other than True Person Guyu's niece, Mu Ziyan. Raising her head, she realized that True Person Guyu was not alone—there was a man present as well. Her lovely eyes flickered. "Oh? We have a guest."

True Person Guyu started in surprise, then suddenly burst into laughter. This laughter caught both Mo Bai and Mu Ziyan off guard, as neither of them understood why the True Person was laughing.

"Ziyan," True Person Guyu said, "this is Mo Bai, Hero Mo."

"Aunt, we already know each other." Mu Ziyan appeared far more unconstrained than her aunt.

True Person Guyu was taken aback; she had not expected her niece to already know Mo Bai, and they appeared quite familiar with one another. Naturally, she had no way of knowing that just a short while ago, these two had fought enemies side by side and returned to the Qionghua Hall smiling together.

Mu Ziyan turned to Mo Bai and said, "I didn't expect us to meet again so soon. Surely you didn't come all this way specifically to wait for me?" Mu Ziyan's bold and unrestrained style was by no means inferior to that of the Red Forest Maiden.

Mo Bai smiled awkwardly. "I'm afraid you guessed wrong this time, Lady Mu. I am here to ask True Person Guyu about the owner of this object." Saying this, he flipped his hand to reveal the hairpin.

"Well? Isn't this Old Third Qiu's hairpin?" Mu Ziyan said after casting a glance at it.

A gleam of realization lit up Mo Bai's eyes. Since both aunt and niece declared the hairpin belonged to Yu Qiu, there could be little doubt. Could it truly be as he analyzed—that she mistook him for Yu Zhi's assistant and thus launched a murderous attack? If not for that, why else would she have come to his quarters that night and dropped the hairpin?

Seeing Mo Bai remain silent, Mu Ziyan asked, "What is it? Your arrival has thrown the senior and junior sisters of our Yihua Sect into utter turmoil. Could it be that Old Third Qiu also felt mortal stirrings and gifted this to you? Wait, no—if you already knew whose it was, you wouldn't be asking my aunt." She looked at Mo Bai with a puzzled expression.

Mo Bai smiled helplessly. "Lady Mu jests. How could I have such good fortune? If I can simply manage to leave the Yihua Sect alive, I'll consider myself blessed."

This remark from Mo Bai startled both True Person Guyu and Mu Ziyan. They looked at him in bewilderment. Realizing he could no longer keep things hidden, Mo Bai recounted everything from being ambushed in the dead of night to the subsequent assassination attempt at the rear of the Qionghua Hall.

After listening to the entire account, Mu Ziyan finally understood why Mo Bai had appeared in the dense forest and lost his way. Slamming her palm down onto the table, she declared indignantly, "How could such a thing happen? That being the case, Old Third Qiu is undoubtedly the prime suspect who ambushed you! Hmph, to commit such an unscrupulous act purely for selfish reasons—watch me go settle accounts with her right now."

Mo Bai, however, urged, "Please calm your agitation, Lady Mu. We cannot condemn her as the assassin based solely on this single hairpin."

"What? Mo Bai, a good man doesn't act like this. Are you really going to swallow this grievance?" Mu Ziyan countered.

"Of course not. It's just that I am an outsider and it would be inappropriate for me to take arbitrary actions within the Yihua Sect. That is why I came to seek out True Person Guyu." Mo Bai naturally had his own considerations.

"An outsider," True Person Guyu murmured softly. Then, breaking into a smile with profound implication, she said, "Mo Bai, wanting to become an insider of the Yihua Sect is not such a difficult matter after all."

Mo Bai was stunned upon hearing these words. For all his quick reflexes, even he failed to grasp the underlying meaning of True Person Guyu's statement. Mu Ziyan, however, seemed to catch a hint of it. Her pretty face flushed with a rare blush before she quietly seated herself beside True Person Guyu, lowering her head like a child awaiting instructions.

True Person Guyu had witnessed countless vicissitudes of human life, yet this was the first time she had ever seen Mu Ziyan act in such a manner. In her heart, she understood that her niece must have experienced something significant with Mo Bai, and furthermore, her niece held an exceptionally favorable impression of him; otherwise, she would never have displayed such demeanor and emotional response.

With this realization, True Person Guyu felt fully assured. Smiling at Mo Bai, she said, "Mo Bai, ever since the Spirit Rising Tournament in Guihai City, I have held a favorable impression of you. Running into each other once more here in the Yihua Sect is a matter of fate—and even more so, a bond of destiny between you and my niece Ziyan. Therefore, I harbor a wish: to bring my niece and you a step closer. Once that is done, you will become the son-in-law of the Yihua Sect, and handling certain matters will naturally become much more convenient."

Mu Ziyan fluttered her large eyes, gazing at Mo Bai in an attempt to read the answer she longed for from his expression. Instead, she found Mo Bai looking somewhat flustered. Mo Bai himself had never imagined that True Person Guyu would propose matchmaking for him, and even less that it would be with her own niece. Should he agree, he would become the son-in-law of the Yihua Sect. In True Person Guyu's tactful phrasing, this would give him a legitimate and righteous standing to hold Yu Qiu accountable for her assassination attempt, handing the matter over to the Sect Leader of the Yihua Sect for a proper verdict—thus providing Mo Bai with a satisfactory resolution. But would Mo Bai willingly pay such a heavy price?